I would like to know if anyone else has noticed a substanial difference in how Adderall works if they take it with food vs. not eating.

I have been on Adderall for almost a year. I started at 20 mgs. and am currently taking 40 mgs. This past week, I was too busy to eat breakfast so took my Adderall in the morning without eating anything. Wow, I felt like I did when I first started taking it. I have extended this experiment all week with great results. My mind was clearer; I had more focus, and it seemed to last longer.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether or not taking Adderall without eating can produce stronger results? Or is it just wishful thinking or my imagination? Thanks in advance to those who respond.

i do the same. i wake up early enough soo its ahalf hour before i eat breakfeast, i take it and chug lots of ICE COLD water. it hits me in about half hour and im on the ball. when u take it after or during a meal, depending on the food you ate, can reduce the absorate rate and possibly the overall obsortion of teh adderal depeding on teh acidty of the food. Acidic foods and minerals and vitmains(liek vitamin C) reduce the absortrion of adderal, aka waistin your money. i woudlnt suggest using antiacids because if u abuse it to much u can really hurt yourself as that kind of stuff enhances thes trength of teh adderal(and much of time the side affects, which coudl be pretty hard on your body). after the cold water i dirnk green tea w/stevia extract. both alkaline, not anti acids but ideal to drink while takin the adderal,makin it slliiightly stronger but not enoguh to get those bad side affects.

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"The data, reported in the July issue of Current Medical Researchand Opinion, indicate that serum levels of methylphenidate inindividuals taking the long-acting medication Concerta are notsubstantially different when the medication is taken with foodor on an empty stomach.
In contrast, individuals in the study who took Adderall XR,an extended-release formulation of mixed amphetamine salts,displayed drastically lower early blood levels when taking themedication with food compared with taking it on an empty stomach.
The study was conducted by researchers at McNeil Consumer andSpecialty Pharmaceuticals, which markets Concerta. Adderallis marketed by Shire Pharmaceuticals Group.
The study compared the effect of eating a high-fat breakfaston the absorption and distribution of a typical morning doseof each medication (36 mg of Concerta or 20 mg of Adderall)in 36 healthy adults. Breakfast consisted of eggs, butteredbread, bacon, hash-brown potatoes, and eight ounces of wholemilk. Blood samples were taken 18 times over the ensuing 28-hourperiod. Subjects received either Concerta or Adderall followingeither an overnight fast or 15 minutes after eating the high-fatbreakfast.
Blood levels of methylphenidate in subjects who received Concertavaried only about 3 percent between the fasting and post high-fat-mealdosings. Subjects who took Adderall after the high-fat meal,however, had on average a 55 percent decrease in their bloodlevels of amphetamine during the first four hours followingdosing, compared with those who took Adderall after fasting.When a drug’s absorption is significantly affected byfood intake, its label usually says it is best taken eitherone hour before or two hours after a meal. The current approvedlabeling for Adderall does not address any need to take themedication on an empty stomach. "

Thank you so much for providing the above link. This is a question asked frequently here at ADDF (to take medication with or without food). I always take my first dose an hour before I actually start my day and this has proven to be very effective for me. Thankfully, for me, adderall does not cause appetite suppression; I am always hungry!

When I first started taking Adderall, my doctor told me to always take it on a empty stomach with a glass of water, so I usually do. I have taken it with food when I'm in a hurry and notice a difference, definitely not as effective with food for me. since it is very important to eat though, I always take it in between meals.

When i first started taking the XR, i still ate. As the dosage has increased, so has my total lack of appetite. Some days all i will manage to get down is a few doritos. So what ive started doing is taking my XR when i get up, and try and eat a little bit of protien before the meds kick in.

i always have something to drink with me. My throat and mouth get waaaayyy to dry if i dont. Either diet dr pepper or unsweetened ice tea.

So true! If I eat before taking adderall, it does nothing at all! I take 60 mg. XR around 8 am., 10mg. IR at noon, then 20-30 mg. IR around 4pm. I usually wait about 1/2 hr. after 4pm dose to eat anything at all. If I eat earlier in the day, it just doesn't work. My body is used to this schedule, so it doesn't bother me (even before meds, I never ate anything until 2-3pm in the afternoon). I know most people can't imagine exercising all day and not eating till the late afternoon, but I just adhere to this schedule because I already need to take a lot of adderall for it to work (90-100mg.), so I rather do this than have to increase my dosage.

In my personal experience its very important to try to keep a daily log and check how well the medication works if you take it with or without food, I tried both and for me like it will for most people the adderal works best on an empty stomach; however on days when I go to the gym I like to workout for a few hours and not eating anything in this case over the long term can be dangerous on the body, so I found the next closest way to take the meds is to eat something ( highly alkaline ) wait two hours then take the meds, this way the meds have plenty of time to absorb....And then wait two hours before I eat anything again, that's just my best mix of keeping it in between meals as mentioned above, unfortunately there is no exact formula, somepeople its best to wait an hour to an hour and a half to two, But I can guarentee yyou that if you stop eating and sleeping you will 90% lose body weight but over the long term this will be lean tissue and over the long term gain fat.
basically for me its balance, you want to have effective potential of the medication, but you also want to limit the downside and any negative effects because living an active lifestyle requires eating healthy, and SLEEPing, I found that adderall is a very strong appetite suppressant and kept me awake at nights and in the long term that is unhealthy. so keep a journal and try to make the meds an active ingredient in the overall plan that you use to improve your life like improve what you put into your body, over the long term
my two cents.

I have only been taking adderall for 4 days now. I have taken it as soon as I wake up in the morning and then maybe a banana a bit later. I feltl the effects very quickly. Today I woke up very hungry so I ate breakfast first (eggs and lil' smokies turkey sausages), and an hour later I feel like I didn't take anything.....nothing except a dry mouth. I only take a 20mg tablet in the morning (not XR) so needless to say I probably wont accomplish much today. At least I know better for tomorrow.

Update from previous post:
It has been 3 hours since I took the meds. While the effects are not nearly as potent as the last few days, I am still getting things done quite well. I feel very calm and relaxed and my patience with things seems better (I am currently at home on Spring Break with my 2 and 4 year old boys). I am trying to weigh the benefits of how I felt the last few days versus how I feel today. I think I will experiment a little more, since I have plenty of time before my next appointment.
Thanks for all of your helpful posts.

This is due to the bioavailability of amphetamine being increased when you don't eat. Thus more get's absorbed.

Think of it this way, if your taking 20mg your absorbing about 25% of that, so your really only "taking" (absorbing) 5mg. When you don't eat, I don't know the specifics, but essentially the affinity of the drug to be absorbed through the lining of the intestines increases. I'd imagine this has to do with possibly your body trying to absorb anything remaining in the intestines for nutrients, so it allows things to pass more easily. Or it could have to do with enzyme activity because your body recognizes what is there and tries to metabolize it faster. It could also otherwise be due to the lack of gastric acidity. So basically instead of that 5mg, your getting maybe an effective 6mg or more.

I have the opposite reaction when I don't eat. I feel it faster when I take it on an empty stomach but it dies out fast if I don't eat. If I have a bananna within an hour after it lasts longer than if I don't eat. And when im feeling it wear off mid day, I munch on some pretzels and it hits me again. Maybe im just weird I dunno.